Ghost in the Machine
by Vaasth
Summary: Yugi and Seto are forced to work together to uncover the plot behind their mysterious disappearance. And while their friends work tirelessly to find them, it soon becomes obvious that whatever they've gotten mixed up in this time is far more dangerous than any Shadow Game.
1. Chapter 1

/Text/ Spirit to Host

 **/Text/ Host to Spirit**

* * *

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A brief burst of static, closely followed by a garbled voice over a radio, and then silence filled the sterile room, broken only by the steady intervals of a heart-rate monitor. There were only four occupants of the room: two asleep, one slumped uncomfortably in the visitor's chair next one of the beds, and the other standing, guarding, at the door. The privacy curtains, white like the rest of the room, were completely drawn, cutting off the sentry from his charges.

A quiet buzzing made the visitor jump, raising his head where it rested awkwardly on the edge of the mattress. He removed one of his hands from its resting place embracing a bandaged one and reached into his pocket to remove a cell phone. Straightening up, he peered at the notification across the screen: it was a text.

 _Téa: What's going on? There are police all over the place, and they won't let us inside._

The boy sighed. After sitting vigil with him for what seemed like forever, they had gone to get food from a nearby takeout restaurant. It had only been about thirty minutes since the gang had vacated the room, but it was long enough for terror to strike. He glanced to his right at the other sleeping occupant before quickly typing a response.

 _They were spotted entering the hospital. We're on lockdown._

Téa's response was almost instantaneous. _Are you guys ok?_

What an odd question, considering the circumstances surrounding them all. He was stuck in this hospital room while the local authorities chased down a killer hunting for them. No, he was certainly _not_ fine. But he knew what she really meant.

 _We're okay. One of the officers was here just before it all started, but she went off to help find the guys. She left a radio behind, so we can hear what's going on._

He set the phone down on the mattress he had dozed off against and stretched the stiffness out of his neck. From the other side of the privacy curtain, he could hear the radio go off again, but he wasn't able to hear what was going on as the volume was suddenly turned down. Well, so much for being nosy. Now the _only_ sounds to be heard were the reassurance of a steady heartbeat.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The creak of the second mattress and the rustling of fabric made the boy twist in his seat. He jumped up and twisted the chair around in time to see the familiar violet eyes slowly open.

"Yugi?" It wasn't much more than a whisper, but he couldn't afford to be any louder, not when their assailants were somewhere in the building.

The violet eyes blinked against the light in the room, trying to focus before turning to meet slate-grey ones. He pushed himself up on shaky elbows. "M-Mokuba?"

The younger Kaiba leaned closer. "How do you feel?"

Yugi rubbed at his eyes and forehead, to erase the last remnants of sleep, and noticed as he pulled his hand away that his wrists were bandaged. He attempted to sit up, but Mokuba beat him to it, hitting the button on the side of the bed to elevate it.

"Tired…but okay, I think." He took a look around the room. Aside from the one Mokuba Kaiba sat in, three extra chairs were crammed around his bed. A heavy white curtain was drawn, keeping him from seeing anything that wasn't immediately surrounding the beds. A cursory glance down revealed he was still (mostly) dressed, and was only hooked up to an IV line.

"Aside from a few bruises, the doctor said you were mainly just suffering from dehydration and exhaustion," said Mokuba, pointing to the IV drip. "I think those are just fluids, not drugs or anything." He propped his elbows up on the edge of Yugi's bed. "They're gonna keep an eye on you for a while though, but still - you got lucky."

Mokuba followed Yugi's gaze around to the three empty chairs. "Joey, Tristan, and Téa left to bring food back. It's been at least six hours since you were brought in, and we've all been here the entire time."

"I got lucky…." Yugi murmured. What did he mean by that? He struggled to think back, not remembering exactly where he had passed out. His thoughts were broken by the steady beeping in the room and he lifted his head. Wait – he wasn't hooked up to a monitor. And he wasn't the only one that needed saving. If _Mokuba_ had stayed behind to sit with him, of all his friends, that must mean he wasn't the only ill occupant of the room.

Yugi glanced around Mokuba, and felt his breath catch in his chest. "Kaiba…."

Mokuba wiped a stray tear from his eye with his sleeve. "He hasn't woken up yet."

To say that Kaiba looked worse for wear would be an understatement. Unlike him, Yugi saw he was buried under several blankets, both hands wrapped in bandages that covered up past his forearms, and another was wrapped around his head, disappearing under his bangs. His pale skin eerily showed off the heavy purple bruising that covered his neck. There was also an IV line in, although there was more than one bag attached to it, and the machine on the other side of the bed was chirping out his heart rate. As unnerving as the constant beeping was in the otherwise quiet room, he was at least relieved to see the slow rise and fall of his rival's chest.

At least he had been rescued too.

"What happened to him?"

Mokuba frowned. "You don't know?"

Yugi shook his head. "We split up. He had a head injury from the attack in the hotel, but I wasn't around for the rest of it. Is he going to be okay?"

"They think so," said Mokuba quietly, taking his brother's hand in his own again. "It'll be easier when he wakes up. Roland and Joey found him in what they called 'an electrician's nightmare'. They said he suffered from electrical burns, but that obviously wasn't all of it."

Yugi cringed. That sounded _painful_.

Mokuba jerked his head towards the direction of the door as it opened. Low voices were heard from the other side of the privacy curtain before the door closed again. Footsteps were heard moving through the room and Roland appeared from around the edge of the curtain and sank down into the one of empty clustered chairs.

"Welcome back, Mr. Muto," he said tiredly, "It's good to see you're alright."

The thick bandage over the left side of his forehead did not go unnoticed, nor did the row of stitches hiding along his eyebrow. It was weird for Yugi to see him without his dark sunglasses.

Roland caught him staring and pointed towards the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. "I was struck with one when you and Mr. Kaiba were attacked. I assure you, it looks worse than it actually is."

"What's going on out there, Roland?" asked Mokuba. "Who was that?"

"One of the investigating detectives," said Roland. "The elevators have been shut down, and the floor's exits are covered."

Yugi blinked. "What happened?"

Roland paused, listening to the sudden radio chatter through his earpiece. "Your assailants apparently were not happy to find you two had escaped. The hospital is on lockdown."

Yugi shivered slightly, drawing his knees to his chest.

Roland suddenly got up and reached for one of the extra blankets on the side table next to his employer's bed, as well as the small bag sitting beside it. "We found this in the building not far from where you were initially held."

Yugi drew the blanket around his shoulders, looked into the bag and gasped. He immediately turned it over, dumping out the shattered Millennium Puzzle.

"Are all of the pieces there?" asked Mokuba, picking up one of the corners and looking it over curiously.

Yugi spread them all out on the bed before him. He set the top piece, still attached to the chain, aside and looked around. "I think so. We'll soon find out, at least."

"Didn't that take you eight years to put together, though?" asked Mokuba, "Do you really think you'll finish it sitting here?"

Yugi smiled. "I had to fix the Puzzle once since I initially put it together, and that was in a burning warehouse. It's almost like riding a bike. Once you first learn it, you never really forget it."

"Oh."

Yugi looked up. "Do you want to rest, Roland? You look like you need it. I can sit in the chair and build the Puzzle if you want the bed."

Roland shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, Mr. Muto. But I need to be awake in case certain individuals make it through that door."

Mokuba looked back towards the door, hidden from view by the privacy curtains. "I thought you said the police covered the exits. Do you really think they're going to get past them all the way here?"

Roland leveled him a stern gaze. "I refuse to take that chance."

* * *

Yugi yawned and slowly opened his eyes. He didn't remember falling back to sleep, but after the agonizing last few days, he wouldn't say no to the extra rest. He rubbed the last bit of sleep from his eyes and glanced around.

The Millennium Puzzle, now put together, sat on the small tray table between his bed and the window. Mindful of the IV still coming out of his wrist, he reached for it and placed it around his neck, and immediately felt the familiar presence of the Pharaoh's spirit.

/Yugi! Are you alright?/

 **/I'm fine…how long have I been asleep?/**

/Almost an entire day! Your friends have been very worried about you./

Yugi took another glance around. The lights in the room had dimmed, and the table lamp set between his and Seto's bed was on. All of the chairs his friends supposedly sat in when he was out the last time were gone, as was Mokuba and Roland, and the privacy curtains that had been set up were pushed back against the wall. The room was eerily silent, except from the constant beeping from the machines Seto was still hooked up to.

He blinked and studied his rival. Seto was still unconscious, and the dark contusions along his neck didn't look any better than when he woke the last time. Yugi rubbed a hand along his own neck, trying to mirror where they would be on his own body. From the shape of the bruises, it looked as if someone had tried to strangle him, and he swallowed nervously. Kaiba was _tall_ and he had watched firsthand how skilled he was in fighting and self-defense while trapped in that compound. So for someone to be able to get a one up on him enough that they did so much damage, they must be either be very strong or super lucky.

His eyes fell on Seto's bandaged hands, and he remembered Mokuba telling him that he had also suffered from electrical burns. Maybe whoever took him out tried to fry him first and fought dirty. Either way, it seemed Kaiba was lucky to be alive.

But…considering that the last time he was awake, his kidnappers were somewhere in the hospital, and the lack of security nearby was rather off-putting. He can't imagine that Roland – or at the very least, _Mokuba –_ would have left them both completely alone.

 **/Where is everyone, Pharaoh?/**

With a quick golden flash of the Millennium Puzzle, Yami phased out, and perched himself onto the edge of Yugi's bed. " _It is the middle of the night, Yugi. It seems visitors are not allowed past a certain time in this place."_

Yugi tilted his head, puzzled. "But…they weren't here the last time I was awake. The hospital was under lockdown. What happened with that?"

Yami sighed. " _I'm afraid I couldn't say. It was hard to keep track of what was going on while you were unconscious. I tried not to push too far to connect a link before the Puzzle was put back together and end up disturbing your rest."_

The door suddenly opened, admitting Mokuba, Roland, and a woman that Yugi didn't recognize at all. She wasn't wearing scrubs or a doctor's coat, but a suit with a law enforcement badge clipped to the front of her jacket.

"Good evening, Mr. Muto," she said, then paused and looked at her watch. "Well, technically it's morning now. I'm Detective Soto in charge of your case." She dragged two side chairs into the aisle between his and Seto's beds for herself and Roland, and Mokuba took up the one on the opposite side of his brother's bed and laid his head down awkwardly against the mattress.

"Uh, hi."

"I know you've been through quite an ordeal, and I wanted to check in and see how you're doing. May I call you Yugi?"

"Oh, sure," said Yugi, shrugging. "And…I'm feeling as well as I can be, considering everything. I really wasn't hurt too much."

Detective Soto nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. I was wondering if I might be able to get a statement from you, while the events may still be fresh in your mind?"

"Yeah…that's fine," Yugi said. "Can I ask you something first?"

"Of course."

Yugi scratched at his forehead. "Well…when I woke up before, the hospital was on lockdown. Are we still?"

"No," said Roland, tight-lipped, "they were caught…"

Yugi sagged back against his pillows, relief clearly visible on his face.

Mokuba clutched at his brother's blankets and sniffed.

Yugi turned his head and eyed Mokuba carefully. He was naturally upset over his brother's condition, but he wasn't this miserable yesterday. Did something happen between then and now?

Roland continued. "But not before _one_ of them made it to the room."

Yugi's eyes widened and his gaze darted to Seto and Mokuba. No wonder Mokuba was so distressed. Had he been hurt? "They didn't…"

"No," said Roland, and he reached up with his left hand to massage his temples, and it was then that Yugi noticed that his hand had been thoroughly bandaged, and he didn't remember it being that way before. "He was caught, and if it weren't for the…" he side-eye glared at Detective Soto, " _eventual_ intervention by law enforcement, he would be in custody of the morgue, not the police."

"He slipped through under the guise of an officer, and radioed a convincing diversion," Detective Soto explained, "Unfortunately, he did not expect to find resistance inside your room."

"He didn't get to harm Mokuba or Mr. Kaiba," said Roland, "though if it were up to me, he wouldn't have needed medical attention afterwards."

Yugi cringed. He had only ever seen Seto's security head officiating tournaments or helping fly the helicopter that took them to Dartz. It was hard for him to picture the stoic, yet sometimes panicked guard in a serious fight.

"He clocked 'im with the fire extinguisher," Mokuba mumbled, more into Seto's blankets than to anyone.

Roland deadpanned. "I was merely returning the favor."

Detective Soto cleared her throat. "I'm sure you could probably tell this was not the same place you woke up in yesterday. For security reasons and as a precaution, we had you both transferred to a different room."

"Your friends are staying in a _different_ hotel nearby," said Roland, seeming to guess Yugi's next question, "They will be back to see you in the morning."

Yugi nodded. "I can't wait to see them."

"We will, of course, get statements from them as well, since they were instrumental in finding you," said Detective Soto, "For now, yours and Roland's accounts will be enough to get started."

"I can only tell so much," said Yugi, "While we were missing, Kaiba and I had split up, so there's a lot that happened afterwards that I won't know."

"That's alright," said Detective Soto, "I'm sure Mr. Kaiba will be willing to share his side when he is able." She pulled what appeared to be a phone from her pocket and sat it on the arm of her chair. "Are you comfortable with me recording your story?"

"That's fine."

"Alright." She tapped the screen a few times. "If we can, I'd like to get a complete recount of what brought you here, so we can corroborate any security footage that gets pulled. Is that okay?"

Yugi nodded. "I'll do what I can."

"Excellent." She tapped the screen one more time and began her recording. "This is Detective Mira Soto conducting a witness interview in regard to Case #7597. May I have your names and occupations for our records?"

"Roland Isono, personal bodyguard for Seto and Mokuba Kaiba, and Head of Security for the Kaiba Corporation."

"Yugi Muto, and, um, high schooler? Duelist? I'm not sure what would count for that."

"Student is fine," said Detective Soto. "Okay, let's start from the very beginning…"


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: This chapter makes reference to the events of another story of mine, 'Let it Snow', where Yugi and the gang are stranded at Kaiba's place during Christmas. It's not completely necessary to read that to make it through this story, but some of the conversation details in this chapter may otherwise be a bit confusing._

* * *

"What brought you to Himota?" asked Detective Soto.

"Well," said Yugi, thinking back, "I guess this all started a few weeks ago, when Mokuba came to visit the shop after school that one day…."

* * *

 _Three Weeks Ago…_

Game night at the Muto house was always something to behold, despite it currently being the middle of the day. It was one of the few times that the Duel Monsters cards and duel disks were left put away. Usually, game night consisted of testing out some of the newer products that came into the shop ahead of their release, so Yugi and his grandfather had something to promote when they were able to stock it on the shelf.

On this particular day, Joey, Tristan, and Téa were gathered around the shop's front counter as Yugi carefully opened up their newest board game sample box.

"Oh, this looks fun," said Téa, "It reminds me of Bakura's Monster World table, only smaller, and without the Spirit of the Ring's magic to ruin it."

Tristan laughed and picked up one of the playing pieces. "You read my mind. Check out this cool archer!"

"Is this the one we're playin' tonight, Yug'?" asked Joey.

"I think so, unless there's something else you guys want to do," said Yugi. "We got a few new things in on the last shipment, but this is the only one with a proper display set."

"Nah, this is good," said Joey, sliding around the counter as the shop bell rang, announcing a new customer.

"Welcome to the Game Shop," said Yugi, automatically. He hadn't yet looked up from leafing through the instructional booklet. "How can I help you to–oh! Mokuba! What brings you here?"

Téa turned around. "Hi Mokuba!"

"Hi!" said the younger Kaiba cheerfully, "What's going on?"

"Nuthin' too much. Yug's holdin' down the fort while Gramps is out grocery shopping," said Joey.

Mokuba looked around the Game Shop. The last time he had come here, it was out of desperation, when the Big 5 had locked Seto into his first virtual reality game. He'll never remember just how he corralled enough energy to bolt across town on foot _in the rain_ to get here, but at least now the sun was shining, it was the middle of the day, and his driver dropped him off on the way home from school.

"Anything in particular you're looking for?" asked Yugi. "We were just checking out this new game to put on display for next week, and we're going to give it a trial run tonight. …Would…would you like to join us?"

Mokuba shook his head, smiling. "Nah, but thanks for the offer. I'm supposed to be heading to Kaiba Corp, but wanted to detour for a quick second." He looked around to the group. "You guys got a minute?"

"Sure," said Tristan, leaning back against the front counter. "What's up, kid?"

"Well…you remember what happened at Christmas?"

"How could we forget?" said Yugi, "It was really nice of you and Kaiba to let us stay during that snowstorm."

"Well, it wasn't like we were gonna throw you out," said Mokuba, "Though I'm sure Seto _really_ wanted to, but eh."

"He's completely healed over right? There weren't any complication from his accident?" asked Téa.

"Huh? Oh, no. He was fine by the time we went home. But…I really wanted to thank you guys for making Christmas special for me, since Seto was laid up for the majority of our week."

"There's no need, Mokuba, really," said Yugi. "If anything, I feel like we owed _you_ for interrupting your vacation."

Mokuba waved a hand. "Semantics."

Joey snorted. "You even know what that word means?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Duh. Do _you_?" He didn't even wait for Joey's double-blink, reached into his backpack, and pulled out an envelope. "This is for you guys."

Téa took it from him and opened it up. Out fell a series of documents.

Tristan peered over her shoulder. "What is all this?"

"A ski trip," said Mokuba, "At that new resort up north in Himota that opened a few months ago."

Joey's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," said Mokuba, and he shuffled his feet along the floor.

"That is really generous of you, Mokuba!" said Yugi.

"So you'll go?" Mokuba asked eagerly.

"Heck yeah!" said Joey, before anyone else could say anything. "I'm not gonna say no to a free vacation!"

"Is it really though?" said Tristan, peering over the hotel reservation. "What's the catch?"

"No catch…" Mokuba said slowly.

Yugi shook his head. "This is almost _too_ generous of you, Mokuba. We have to give you something towards it, we can't let you pay for this entire trip on your own."

"Sure we can," said Joey, "Mokuba's as loaded as his big brother."

"Well, _technically_ , Seto paid for it," said Mokuba.

They all froze.

Joey looked from Yugi to Tristan. "Nuh uh. Kaiba's not gonna pay for _us_ to have fun. He'd rather rip up his _Blue Eyes_ cards – _and eat them –_ before somethin' like that."

Mokuba sighed. "I was the one who pitched it to him. This resort? They're having this conference at the same time as your trip. Seto _has_ to go as a representative of Kaiba Corp. And he's not going to leave me home by myself, so I get to go too. But I don't want to spend all week tagging along with a bunch of suits. So…if you guys want to come too, we can all have fun skiing while Seto's there working."

"Aaaand there's the catch," said Tristan.

"Not really," said Mokuba, "All you have to do is come. Travel and lodging is already taken care of. Food too, because they have a buffet going each day so you don't have to buy your meals."

"I'm still in," Joey said quickly, "You had me at buffet."

Téa rolled her eyes.

"When is the trip?" asked Yugi, reaching for the envelope.

"A few weeks from now," said Mokuba, "I know it's really last minute, but think about it and let me know?"

"Don't gotta think about it," said Joey, "I'm in. Now, I'm not too keen on spendin' my vacation with _Kaiba_ , but if he's gonna be busy someplace rather than buggin' us, I'm cool with that."

"It shouldn't be a problem," said Yugi, "But I'll still talk to Grandpa about it when he gets home later."

Mokuba nodded. "That's fair."

"I'm certain my parents will let me go," said Téa, "They were bummed out when we got stranded during the snowstorm in December."

"Same," said Tristan, " _Really_ getting to hit the slopes this time? Count me in!"

.

* * *

Roland entered Seto's office with a quick knock on the door frame. "I have the report you requested, Mr. Kaiba."

Seto straightened up in his chair and dropped the pen he had been idly twirling around his fingers onto the desk. "Good. How much data was lost?"

"Only very little," said Roland, "The virus that was launched during the Grand Championship didn't make it to any vital files."

Seto nodded, and studied the stern look on Roland's face, and noted the second folder in his assistant's hands. "So what's _that_?"

"IT is finishing up their work strengthening the internal system," said Roland, "But I found something else in our search. Apparently money is being siphoned into an old dormant account."

Seto reached for the report. "What sort of an account?"

Roland shook his head. "I don't know. All I found is an account number that hasn't shown a record of debiting any funds since the days of your predecessor. But small increments have been loaded in ever since. On their own, in comparison to our profits, it is merely change, but altogether it is quite a magnificent sum."

"Someone's been leeching money since Shroeder's virus?" Seto narrowed his eyes. " _Who_?"

"No, sir – since you've taken the helm," Roland corrected, "Funds have been deposited every month for the last two years."

Seto was suddenly glad that he wasn't holding anything. The pen he had discarded earlier would have splintered apart in his hand. Why wasn't he made aware of this before?

"Again – _who_?"

"That's the problem," said Roland, pointing to a line item on the report. "The only thing I can find is an account number. No bank information, no name. Almost like a ghost account."

" _Someone_ has to know about it," said Seto, "Check with Finance. Payroll. R&D if you have to. But I need that funding stopped until I know what it's for."

Roland nodded, turned on his heel, and swiftly left the office.

Seto sighed, swiveled his chair around to face the wall-long window, and gazed down at the rest of the city below.

"One time," he said to the empty office. "Can't anything run smoothly for _once_?"

Though, he thought, a mysterious account funneling money was relatively low on the mayhem scale. It wasn't as if the sum was enough for someone to try and buy out his company – _again_. There was no maniac with a gaudy golden artifact running around trying to kill Yugi or drop duelists into comas. No glowing green rocks that were stealing souls to resurrect a giant flying lizard. There wasn't even a Duel Monsters Tournament.

Just someone trying their hand at embezzlement. _That_ was fairly tame. After all of the ludicrous things he experienced running around with Yugi Muto these past few years, he could handle someone trying to steal a cut of the company profits.

What concerned him was how long it had gone undetected. Roland still had a great deal of digging to do, but whoever was behind this was clever enough to leave as little information as possible. And these transactions dated all the way back to when he forced Gozaburo out. A lot of Gozaburo-loyalists were employed during the transition, and by now, all of them had since left. The Duelist Kingdom debacle had helped to weed out the rest of the more stubborn employees with the quick removal of the Big 5.

And if the timing was only a coincidence? The embezzler could be _anyone_. Between the offices in Domino _and_ New York, there were _hundreds_ of employees. Investigating through them all would definitely take time. And if they truly covered their tracks, Roland was going to have one hell of a hunt finding the responsible party. But at the very least, cutting off access to the account should be a fairly simple fix.

"What're you lookin' at, bro?" asked Mokuba, shuffling inside and dropping his bag onto the office couch.

"Nothing in particular," said Seto.

Mokuba hopped up onto the couch, swinging his legs back and forth. "You gonna be ready to head home soon? You _promised_ we'd leave on time today."

Seto sighed. "I know. We'll go after I finish this report."

Mokuba beamed as his brother sat back down, spun the chair back to the desk, and continued his work.

"You're later than normal," said Seto idly, tapping the pen against the papers. "Did you stay late at school again?"

"No," said Mokuba, "I visited Yugi and the others at the Game Shop."

"Oh." The tone in Seto's voice was less-than-stellar. "I take it they instantly hopped on that trip, huh."

"Joey did," Mokuba shrugged.

" _Of course_ he did."

"Yugi said he'd talk it over with his grandfather," said Mokuba, "But with all the other trips they manage to go on, I don't see them _not_ coming."

Seto exhaled loudly. " _Joy_."

"I don't see why you're so…" Mokuba gestured wildly with his hand while he searched for the proper words. "…So _blah_ about it. You're gonna be in meetings most of the time. You'll probably see very little of Yugi or his friends."

"Color me jealous," Seto deadpanned, "that you will be enjoying yourself. _I_ will be stuck in _Pegasus's_ company. For _hours_. _Every. Day._ "

Mokuba stuck his tongue out. "Yeah, but Roland will be with you, so you won't be _truly_ alone…."

"He'll be there to make sure I don't end up committing a murder." Seto sighed, closed the laptop, and reached for his coat. "Ready?"

"Uh huh!" Mokuba grabbed his bag and skipped towards the door. "And let's face it. You know he'd help bury the body. He despises Pegasus _almost_ as much as you do!"

"It's hard to believe there's another person out there that contain _that_ level of disdain for a specific thing," said Seto, hitting the button for the elevator.

"Yeah. It's almost scary how alike you both are."

Seto crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the elevator as the doors slid shut behind them and started its descent down the tower. "I take it you took care of all of the Nerd Herd's arrangements?"

Mokuba nodded energetically. "Uh huh! They'll be there the same time we will! I was able to get them a few rooms together, and saved money on travel all at the same time!"

Seto raised an eyebrow. He looked into the travel to Himota also, before giving Mokuba the rather forced green light to invite Yugi and his friends. How Mokuba found a way to save costs on the trip (not that they _needed_ to be frugal) was rather interesting. At the same time…he was afraid to find out.

"And how did you manage that?"

Once Mokuba bit his lip, Seto was _certain_ he wasn't going to like the answer.

"I got a group discount by adding their train tickets to ours!"

Seto closed his eyes and thumped his head back against the wall of the elevator hard enough he saw stars behind his eyelids. " _Ugh…._ "

Mokuba snickered. "You never said I couldn't do it…."

"I don't know what I did to make you torture me like this," said Seto, staring up at the elevator ceiling. "But I'm sorry."

"Relax, bro – their seats aren't right next to ours."

"Oh thank you," Seto let out a loud relieved sigh.

"But I've never been on a train before, so I purposely didn't pick the bullet train, so there'd be more time to relax. And I figured once the conference is over, you'd need the extra time to unwind before we got home and you went back to work…so, yeah…." He wrapped his arms around his brother's waist and hugged tightly. "You're…you're not _too_ mad, are you? It…just didn't make sense for them to travel alone when we were all going to the same place…."

Seto didn't say anything.

Mokuba's face fell. "…Seto?"

"I'm not mad," Seto said finally, though it sounded somewhat forced, as the elevator chimed and the doors slid open. "But if I have to spend _hours_ in the company of only Yugi's friends, I don't want the stink-eye for bringing work or earplugs or _anything_ to keep them out of my hair."

"…Okay. Are you _sure_ you're not mad?"

Seto sighed and led his brother outside to the waiting car. "I'm not mad," he repeated, "But if you don't trip Wheeler up on the slopes at least _once_ , I'll be very disappointed."

"I don't know if Joey knows _how_ to ski. We might all be on beginner courses."

"Good. Then when he wipes out, it won't put him in the hospital. And I want _video_."

Mokuba laughed. "Deal!"


	3. Chapter 3

/Text/ Yami to Yugi

 **/Text/** Yugi to Yami

* * *

Chapter 3

The only "catch" that Tristan brought up triumphantly (he had been looking for a loophole to Mokuba's perfect vacation since he had dropped off the trip documents to the Game Shop), was that they needed to find their own transportation to the train station.

Considering Mokuba had already paid for their entire trip, that was not a huge ask.

"How long is the train ride, anyway?" Téa had asked.

"Seven hours," said Mokuba, "I had the option to pick the speedy train, but I didn't want to. I thought Seto could use the time before and after to unwind, and I've never been on one before!"

"Well, we had a not-so-great experience the last time we were on a train," said Tristan.

Mokuba's eyes widened. "Really? What happened?"

Joey snorted. "What _didn't_ happen?"

"Did you break down or something?"

"Or something," said Tristan, and he started tallying off on his fingers. "Let's see. First the passengers all disappeared like they weren't even there. One of those illusions Dartz created. _Then_ the cars came apart and stranded me and Joey with _Rex Raptor_ in the middle of nowhere."

"Let's not forget that the Pharaoh and I were on the runaway half of the train, and we had to duel Weevil _on top of it_ , and got pitched over the side of a cliff when the whole thing derailed!" said Téa.

Mokuba's eyes grew the size of saucers. The thing _crashed_? How were they even still _alive_? " _When did this happen?"_

Joey shrugged. "About the same time your brother was duelin' 'top that plane."

Yugi wrinkled his nose. "You said that with such calm, as if Kaiba does that on a daily basis."

Joey raised both eyebrows innocently. "You mean he _don't_?"

" _No!_ " Mokuba huffed. "Geez, Joey! And I don't think that was a duel he particularly enjoyed…since, you know, _the plane was crashing_!"

Joey snickered and turned to look out the window of the station at the train sitting idly at the platform. "Bet he still got a rush from it."

Yugi shook his head slightly. "Is this your way of saying that _you_ want do duel on top of an airplane, Joey?"

"I mean, why not?"

"Technically, you all dueled on the blimp…" said Téa as an announcement paged over the station's intercom. "That's an aircraft. And if I remember correctly, _Joey_ , you almost lost your cards your first trip up there!"

"If you're all done," said Seto, annoyed, "We're boarding."

"Oh, we are?" Tristan looked around the station. A very small handful of people were heading outside.

"I only heard the call for first class," said Joey.

Mokuba sighed as he reached up, waving the stack of tickets in Joey's face. "Joey… we _are_ traveling first class."

Joey blinked and plucked the tickets form Mokuba's hand. "Eh, hate to break it to you, kid, but your arithmetic ain't right." He fanned the tickets out in his hand, counting them. "There's eight tickets."

"Uh huh…."

"But there's only six of us."

"Roland is coming with us," said Mokuba, "So there's seven."

Joey waved the tickets in his hand. "But you got _eight_ tickets."

"I know," said Mokuba. _He_ thought it was obvious why, but apparently not. "I get two seats. One by Seto, and the other so I can hang out with you guys."

They started moving towards the platform outside. "Oh," said Téa, "I assumed that we were all going to sit close together."

"Well…sort of," Mokuba shrugged. The tickets were checked by the employee standing next to the entrance onto the train and he directed them in the general location of their seats. "Seto went online to see what I had picked and he made some adjustments. We're in the same car…just not together. So he got me an extra one."

"What – you're too good to hang out with us, Rich Boy?" Joey snickered as Tristan rolled his eyes and jabbed him in the arm.

"Like you're going to want him near you for the entire ride," he muttered.

" _I_ have work to do," said Seto shortly, "And I plan to do it in relative peace. I shouldn't have to remind you that this is a business trip. _You_ are here to keep Mokuba company while I sit in meetings each day."

"The real reason we're here comes out," Joey muttered. "Mokuba's babysittin' service."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "You're on a _free trip_ to have fun. You can deal."

* * *

The train departed the station exactly on the hour. Yugi glanced to Téa, sitting next to him and then around. The car had seats in clusters of six with three on each side facing each other. Unlike the train they rode in the United States, the walking aisle was along the left edge of the train, rather than cut through the center of the seating.

"I thought the car would be…I don't know…fuller," said Yugi, "There's not a lot of people in here."

"Maybe they're just not in first class," said Téa. "This train is a lot nicer than that other one."

"Yeah," Joey said. He ran his hand along the edge of his seat and then reclined it back a bit. " _Comfy._ I wouldn't mind sittin' in this all day."

"We're going to be on this for the entire day, so good," Tristan said.

"Hm. Somethin' I didn't think about," Joey muttered. "We didn't bring snacks."

Téa's shoulders slumped as she shook her head at him in disbelief. "You're hungry? _Already_?"

" _No_!" said Joey, a little too quickly, "But it's an important detail, Téa! We're all gonna get hungry eventually!"

"You guys maybe," said Téa, smirking devilishly, " _I_ planned ahead and brought snacks."

"Oh, like what?"

"I'm not telling you," said Téa, clutching her bag a little closer. "You're just going to snoop in while I'm not looking and take it!"

Joey looked offended at both her statement, and Tristan's rather loud laugh. "That hurts, Téa."

"I'm sure there's a dining car or something," said Yugi. He poked through the little magazine bin under the window. "I wonder if there's a little map of the train in here somewhere."

"Nah, Yug' that's cheating," said Joey, getting up. "I'm gonna do some renaissance!"

Téa rolled her eyes. "You mean reconnaissance?"

Joey blinked and glared at Tristan, who was trying – and failing – to not laugh at him again. " _You shut it_."

He got to his feet, stretched slightly, and hauled Tristan out of his seat. "C'mon man, you're goin' with me."

" _Why_?" Tristan whined. "I'm comfortable."

"Cuz you _laughed_ at me twice," said Joey, "And besides – Kaiba's buyin' remember?"

Yugi sighed. "Guys…that's…that's not how this works."

"Just because Kaiba and Mokuba paid for our trip doesn't mean they'll cover the extra food on the train too," said Téa.

Yugi shook his head. It was too late. Joey and Tristan had stalked off down the aisle and they were probably too far now to be heard. "I can't believe he's hungry."

Téa snorted. " _I_ can." She reached into her bag and pulled out a book. "I'll share my snacks if you get hungry later, Yugi. I know you're not going to eat everything, _plus_ the bag too."

"…How do you know this is the right way?" asked Tristan, as they approached the end of the car. "For all we know, this goes just to the front engine."

"I know this way leads to a rich jerk," Joey muttered, and slowed to a halt next to their cluster of seats. Both Seto and Roland were sitting at the window seats, had the two tray tables folded down from underneath the window, and set up laptops. Seto had his phone up to his ear, and was leaning an elbow against the narrow armrest of his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke quietly to whoever was on the end of the line.

Mokuba was playing a handheld game and looked up in time to see Joey and Tristan wander over. With a quick pause to the action, he plucked out one of his earbuds and smiled up at them. "What's up, guys?"

"We're gonna explore the train," said Joey, "See what's to do on it…what's to eat…"

Seto rolled his eyes, whether it was at him or whoever he was speaking to, Joey wasn't sure.

"The train only just left," said Mokuba. "Are you hungry already?"

"More like _curious_ ," said Tristan as Seto hung up and unceremoniously dropped the phone onto the tray table.

"It's a _train_ , Wheeler, not an entertainment center. You sit and find something _quiet_ to occupy your time."

Mokuba shrugged. "Well…I want to see what's on the train. Maybe there's a better place to watch the scenery go by!"

"Yeah, see? Perhaps there is," said Joey, "Or…maybe a table to play cards…or duel…"

Tristan made a face. "We're going to a ski resort. You brought your duel disk?"

"Nah. Just my cards."

" _Why_?"

"A duelist is always prepared, Tristan."

"Then by all means, _go_ ," said Seto. "And find your entertainment _away from here_."

"Man, who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Joey teased.

Seto narrowed his eyes at him but Mokuba spoke up before he could get a word out.

"His blood isn't pumped with enough coffee yet," he said, placing his game onto the empty seat next between him and Seto. "But I'll go with you guys. I bet there's a spot somewhere around here where we can get some. And I want to see the train too!" He looked to Seto. "Can I?"

He waited for his brother's terse nod, and then jumped up and followed Joey and Tristan out and into the adjacent car.

Roland waited a few seconds before removing his dark glasses and plugging a small memory card into the side of his laptop. "What did they need this time?"

"Something petty they could have solved by going through the department head," said Seto. "Fuguta is supposed to be fielding these calls."

"Hm."

Seto gave a side-eye sweep of the seats beside him, as if Mokuba was going to suddenly reappear. "How's that side project going?"

Roland shook his head. "I spent all of last week searching that account number through every database I could find. And the only thing I could reference it to was something called "Project Lazarus."

Seto raised an eyebrow. "…Project Lazarus?"

Roland nodded. "Does it sound familiar?"

Seto shook his head. "…No. What is it?"

Roland sighed. "The _next_ puzzle. I've pulled every digital file I can find dating back the same time as those transactions, but so far there's nothing. Could we have purged the system of some of the old data when the company was in transition?"

"I didn't think so," said Seto, thoughtfully. "I had it all stored, in case there was any sort of legal issue that came up from one of his deals, since most of those weapons contracts were broken prematurely."

"Could it have been lost in the virus?"

Seto crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. "Doubtful. I was told everything was restored."

"But someone has been moving company funds into this account," said Roland, "Which means there was something your stepfather was working on off the books, because you halted everything that was on them."

"This doesn't make any sense," said Seto, "There isn't anyone left who worked on any of Gozaburo's projects to be moving money like that."

"We did find out that the funds have been set up automatically," said Roland, "And they have been stopped. But as to who authorized it, or what the project was for…"

"Keep digging," said Seto, " _That_ is your priority. I don't care if you hole up in the suite and spend every minute of your day glued to that screen. I want to know what was Project Lazarus."

Roland nodded. "Yes, sir."

They continued to work in relative silence until Roland glanced over the top of his laptop and looked down the aisle. "Ah – your two most favorite people are on their way back."

Seto let out a noisy sigh. "I don't even have to _look_. I can _hear_ Joey Wheeler from across the train."

"At least Mokuba is still with them and – ah." The corner of Roland's lip curled upward slightly. "They brought your coffee."

"Seto!" said Mokuba eagerly, sliding back into his seat and holding the Styrofoam cup out. "This one is for you!"

"We brought you coffee as a peace offering," said Tristan.

 _That_ sounded suspicious. "Peace offering for _what_?" Seto's eyes flitted back and forth between Joey and Tristan. "…What did you two _do_?"

"Nothing," said Mokuba, holding a foam cup of his own. "Not really, anyway."

"We got snacks!" Joey gave his arm a shake, rustling the bulging plastic bag hanging from it. "On _your_ card!"

Seto looked at the bag and felt his eye twitch. "Your travel and hotel wasn't enough?"

Joey pointed at Mokuba. " _He_ said the trip was free."

Seto closed his eyes and pinched at the bridge of his nose again. This was going to be a _long_ journey.

"Here," Mokuba nudged his arm with the side of the cup. "Your coffee!"

"Hn." Seto took it from him and raised an eyebrow at the other drink in his brother's hand. "Did you get yourself one too?"

"Uh huh."

"You don't drink coffee."

"I want to see what the big fuss was about," Mokuba shrugged. "It has to be good if it's all your blood runs on every day."

He took a long drink and immediately coughed and spat it back out. " _Ugh_! _GROSS!_ "

"Not your thing, huh?" Joey snickered, "No worries, kid. You're too young to be chuggin' that stuff."

"It's not that…" Mokuba wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I've smelled coffee." He looked at Seto. " _Your_ coffee at home smells _good_. The café in Kaiba Corp smells _amazing_. People _rave_ about coffee. But…"

Seto glanced down at the cup in his hand. "…It's _that good,_ huh?"

Mokuba shuddered. "I need to wash my mouth out." But he couldn't help but stare, eyes bugging out of his sockets as his brother took a hard look at the murky drink in his hand before tossing the whole thing down his throat as if he was given of a shot of hard liquor.

"Well?" he asked. Seto looked pensive, eyes focused on the empty coffee cup. His face didn't seem to give any indication if he liked it or not. Maybe it didn't matter. Maybe Seto was so dependent on his caffeine fix that even _bad_ coffee would do.

"Mokuba…" Seto said, after a rather long moment's pause.

Mokuba blinked. "Yes?"

"Are you _sure_ this was coffee?"

"Yeah," Mokuba said, quickly nodding his head. "I mean…it came out of a coffeepot…."

Seto crunched the empty cup in his fist and got up. "Which way was the dining car?"

Tristan blinked and pointed down the direction they had just come from, and Seto immediately stormed off.

"Man, I feel sorry for that poor kid behind the counter," said Joey as they wandered back to their seats, "He's about to have his day _ruined._ "

" _Super ruined_ ," said Tristan.

Téa looked up from her book as they sat back down. "How was your adventure?"

"Pretty nice," said Tristan. "We found the dining car a few ways down from here, learned they make junk coffee, and raided the snack station."

Joey held up his stuffed bag. "Check out these eats!"

Yugi shook his head, looking up from his deck of standard playing cards. "I can't believe you got food this soon into the trip."

"It was an educational journey," said Joey, as Tristan snorted beside him.

Yugi looked at them both. "Uh…what made it so educational?"

"We found like this observation car with like round booth tables," said Tristan. "So if you want to play cards or something over there, there's more room than on that tiny tray table. There's a tv in there playing some kids movie in about an hour or so…and the coffee here is _super bad_."

Téa blinked. "You don't drink coffee."

" _Nope_!" Joey snickered. "But Kaiba sure does. I'll be surprised if we don't hear him screaming at that poor guy for tryin' to poison him."

"I'm sure it wasn't _that_ bad," said Yugi.

"I'm pretty sure it was," said Tristan.

* * *

Mokuba had stopped by their seats about an hour later, bringing one of the newest hybrid consoles that doubled as a handheld game system. He set the screen up on the tray table and passed around the makeshift controllers. "There's a game we can all play if you want," he had said, "We take on the roles of a bunch of heroes in this endless dungeon, and just have to survive the hordes."

"Sounds sweet," said Joey, "I'm in."

"We can't all play, can we? There's more than four of us," said Téa.

"I'll sit out the first round," said Mokuba, "If you guys want to try it out."

Yugi cycled through the range of characters. "I'll be this guy!"

"The rogue?" said Mokuba, impressed, "I didn't take you for the sneaky, stealthy type."

"Something different," said Yugi. He was quiet for a few seconds. "And it was the Pharaoh's decision."

"Oh, is he going to play?" asked Mokuba.

"After I have a turn," said Yugi.

"Well, I'm gonna be the warrior man," said Joey. "Oi, Trist'! They got a robo-man character!"

"Oh, sweet! And he's not even a monkey. _Awesome_."

"I think I'll be…the mage," said Téa.

"Predictable," said Joey.

Téa rolled her eyes. "Look, _someone_ is going to have to cover your guys' behinds. Most of these other characters are front-liners."

"Who do you play as, Mokuba?" asked Yugi.

"I'm usually the dwarf," said Mokuba, "He has a lot of HP and while he doesn't move all that fast, he has this crazy move with his Great Axe that just _decimates_ the zombies."

"Cool – let's get started!"

They had made it through four different waves before Roland walked up to them and sat in the last empty seat in their cluster.

"Oh, hey," said Mokuba, "Did you get tired of Seto and want to play too?"

"Not quite," said Roland. He reached into his jacket pocket and removed his phone. "There's only one stop on our way to Himota, and we'll be there very soon."

"How long are we going to be stopped?" asked Tristan. "I thought this trip was a straight run to Himota."

"Twenty minutes to pick up and drop off other passengers," said Roland, scrolling through whatever he was looking at. "But even _I_ can't drink the coffee on this train."

"You tried it?" Mokuba said. "…and couldn't drink it? I thought you'll drink anything!"

"I've had my share of terrible coffee," said Roland. "This stuff is on a whole different playing field."

He cleared his throat. "In any case, there is a café with good reviews at the next stop, and Mr. Kaiba and I are getting coffee. Would any of you like something?"

"They got milkshakes?" Mokuba asked, hopeful. Roland passed him his phone and Joey looked over Mokuba's shoulder as they scrolled through the menu. "Hm… _oh_! Cookies and cream shake!" He glanced up, eyes wide. "With…the graham cracker crumbles?"

Roland took his phone back and noted it down. "Anything else?"

"I'm fine," said Téa, "but thank you."

"Hot chocolate?" Yugi asked. "Just a small one."

Roland nodded. "Is that all?" He glanced at Tristan, who shook his head, and held up the water bottle he got during the snack raid earlier in the trip. But Joey was grinning like a fool and he sighed. "I'm afraid to ask."

"Question first," said Joey. "We buyin'?"

"No."

"You?"

"It's a company card."

" _Alright then_ ," Joey said, "I hope you're quick to take notes on that thing. I want…eh….an iced coffee - they make those, right?"

"…Yes, Mr. Wheeler, it's a _coffee shop_. They have iced coffee."

"Ok…." He then started rattling off the extra items he wanted in it.

Roland read what he typed into his phone and raised an eyebrow. "You can't be serious."

"Sure am!"

"Joey…" Téa put a hand over her face. "That's not a real drink."

"Sure it is!" said Joey, "It's got coffee and expresso and a few flavors. What else do ya need?"

"A _few_ flavors?" Yugi laughed. "You added so much to that thing!"

"It's gonna be _great_!"

"You can't possibly expect to drink that," said Mokuba, pulling a face. "It _sounds_ worse than the train coffee tasted."

Roland sighed, shook his head and tucked the phone away. "Alright…" he said, getting up. "If you're sure."

Mokuba wrinkled his nose. "Joey you're weird."

"I call it adventurous!"

"Ok, Mr. Adventure," said Téa, "When you need it, the bathroom is in the lower level of the car. Try not to barf on your way there."

"You think I can't drink it?"

"I _know_ you can't drink that," said Tristan. "Buddy, I've seen you eat combinations of things that no normal man should have consumed. But that…." He shuddered.

Yugi glanced out the window as the train started slowing down. "Oh – looks like we're about there. This should be good."

/I don't think I understand exactly what Joey ordered/ Yami said, phasing out of the Millennium Puzzle. /Why is everyone so…concerned?/

 **/He's…well…that drink is something special. Let's leave it at that./**

Yami blinked, confused, but let it drop.

"Well, we can continue the game," said Mokuba. He got out of his seat and readjusted the screen. "Who wants to switch out this time?"

"I will," said Tristan, "Robo-man needs a break."

"I'll hop in this time so the Pharaoh can play," said Yugi. He placed a hand on the Millennium Puzzle and after a quick flash of golden light, retreated to his soul room.

"Ready, Pharaoh?"

"I think so," said Yami, "I remember the controls from watching Yugi."

"How many hordes do you think we'll get through this time?" asked Téa.

"With the Pharaoh – gamin' extraordinaire – on our side? We'll get all the way to the end!"

"I appreciate the enthusiasm Joey," said Yami, "But I haven't played this before."

"That don't mean anything," Joey laughed. "Look who beat Duke Devlin at his own game!"

Yami nodded, conceding the point. "Fair."

He soon learned that after a failed first run with the controller, that video games were not quite like Duel Monsters. A bit more hand-eye coordination than he expected was required, and it took a bit of getting used to.

"You're getting the hang of it," said Mokuba. He smashed the buttons on the right side of his own controller as his dwarf suddenly summoned a huge axe and slammed the ground, creating a shockwave that spread through half of the screen.

" _Dang_ ," Tristan whistled. "Do our characters have a move like that?"

"Nuh uh," Mokuba shook his head. "But all of your other characters have better movement speed and faster weapons, so it makes up for it."

A conductor's voice sounded throughout the car, announcing their departure from the station in ten minutes. Distracted, Téa faltered in her controls and her mage died. "Oh! I'm gonna need a revive."

"Coming," said Mokuba, but he too got distracted by the person in a dark suit taking a seat across from Joey. "Oh, Roland's back, guys."

"Not exactly."

Yami turned around in his seat. "Kaiba?"

Joey looked across the row. Seto was sitting in the seat Roland had vacated just under an hour ago, a rather unamused expression on his face.

"Well, look who decided to quit working and enjoy the ride for a change," Tristan snickered.

"Not quite." He swept his gaze out on all of them before stopping at Joey. "I had to see for myself just what you ordered that cost over $20."

Roland made his way through the car a few minutes later with a cardboard drink tray in each hand. One had a pair of very large coffees, the other had an array of drinks.

Tristan took the second group. "One hot chocolate," he said passing it to Yugi, "A…rather good-looking milkshake…and….wow." He twisted the last cup around in his hand to read the label. "You know, we were here when you rattled that order off, but it's something else to see it on paper."

"Let me see that," said Seto, leaning forward. _Ugh,_ he could _smell_ the sugar from it. He intercepted it just before Joey could grab hold and started reading the label. "An iced cold brew…with… _five_? – pumps each of vanilla, caramel, and classic syrup? What even _is_ classic syrup?"

"I dunno," Joey shrugged. "Saw it was an option and went for it."

He glanced at Joey. "I know you're a bottomless pit, but – _seriously_?"

"What? You don't like my taste in drink?"

In a rather uncharacteristic move, Seto visibly shuddered. "Wheeler, that wasn't even _half_ of this ticket."

Joey grinned.

Seto slowly felt more and more ill as he kept going. "Caramel sauce – _more caramel?_ – and white mocha. Four shots of expresso. And…" he paused. "What, you couldn't decide what milk to use? You needed whole, coconut milk, _and_ heavy cream?"

"Hey, don't forget the extra whip!" Joey plucked the cup out of Seto's hands. "That's the most important part."

"Tell me something, Wheeler," said Seto, drumming his hands on the armrest of his chair, "Did you order that just because you wanted to waste my money, or were you actually planning on drinking that monstrosity?"

"Be honest," said Téa.

"Eh, more or less to see the look on your face," Joey admitted, and his Cheshire Cat grin grew wider. "And _man_ was it worth it!"

"HA!" Tristan jabbed Joey in the arm. "I _knew_ you weren't going to drink it!"

Seto shook his head slightly and got up. He reached into his inner suit pocket and withdrew a narrow wallet. "Oh, no. You don't get off that easily."

Joey looked at his friends and then back up at Seto. "Eh?"

Seto held a crisp $100 note between his index and middle finger and waved it in front of Joey, watching the blonde's eyes follow the bill left and right.

"This is yours," Seto said, the corner of lip curling upwards. " _If_ you drink that entire thing, _right now_ , without spitting _any_ of it out."

"For that much money? _Deal_."

Seto raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms, and took a step to the side and out of Joey's way.

Joey looked at his cup, and then clinked it against Tristan's water bottle. "Bottoms up!"

He then fixed Seto a hard stare. "Be prepared to pay up, Moneybags!"

"It was nice knowing you, pal," Tristan muttered.

Without taking his eyes off Seto, Joey started slurping the drink. He had barely gotten a decent amount of it through his straw before it was spat out against the now-empty seat. He dropped the cup into the drink holder in his armrest, grabbed Tristan's water bottle and started guzzling it as Seto took his coffee from Roland and walked away, laughing.


End file.
